The first phase of Kittilä Airport’s new expansion project is nearly complete and its new areas will be open to the public next week, on Thursday, 22 November, according to national airport operator Finavia. The improvements are part of a 55 million euro project at airports across Lapland.

Flights are scheduled from Istanbul three times a week starting from next winter season.

Barentsburg panorama. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

Barentsburg with the Grønfjord glacier. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

The new restaurant Krasniy Medved (Red bear). Photo: Thomas Nilsen

With Lenin in front, the stele honouring communism was erected in 1974 to mark Svalbard's first multi-storey residential building. The text reads "Our goal is communism". The slogan in the mountain reads Mir i Mir - (Peace and Earth). Photo: Thomas Nilsen

A growing number of tourists are visiting Barentsburg. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

For visitors, the Russian town on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago combines the contrasts of pristine Arctic beauty and Soviet style industry. Nowadays, however, Barentsburg is reshaping its business-focus to become a modern Russian hub for explorer travellers.

Airport operator Finavia is launching a major investment programme in northern Finland. It aims to raise the number of passengers using airports in Lapland and nearby Kuusamo to two million annually by 2030. That’s up from the 1.3 million people who passed through the region’s airports.